I have a patient. Let's call him Phil.Phil is a man who, when I initially offered him follow-up from his six-week hospital stay for alcohol-induced pancreatitis, everyone said I was crazy. Nuts. I was told by a dozen people that I was going to regret it, that he would constantly be abusing narcotics and getting admitted to the hospital.

Thus far: One hospital admission and it was a doozy. He lost his pain meds through an act of abject stupidity and went on a drinking binge, got admitted, and went into DT's. Went a little crazy. Told me the dog ate his IV, dumped the fluids everywhere, and then got better.I don't have a problem with his narcotic use.

And then he called me - said "I'd like to start decreasing the chronic pain patch." I said OK, but why not wait until he was having fewer symptoms from his abscessed tooth (when it rains it pours) and we could talk about it. He said that made sense.Today he calls. "I stopped taking the pain patch. And now I think I'm having withdrawal pains." I'd imagine so. Let's take it a little slower, shall we? "OK. I was reading the pamphlet, and it said all this stuff about how not to stop right away..." So I walked a new script over to the pharmacy for a lower dose, and some breakthrough meds.

I'm almost two years out from medical school, here in Indiana where I was born and grew up. I used to write poetry - still do, sometimes - but now I've taken to spilling my heart out in prose. I'm balancing family, expecting a new baby, and working as a second-year family medicine resident. I'd like to take you along for the ride.

My updates are erratic, dependent on my mood, my current work schedule, and my ability to motivate myself. You are warned.

Expect a narrative of my days on shift. Anticipate good experiences and bad. Almost everything I write, personal or not, is a public entry, so be prepared for things that you don't quite understand.

There is a list of those who really do want to know more about me than the general public desires to see. Flip down to "spin a web" and click the link there to get in on that list.